Prep for a new crown on 18 month old root canal

Joined
Jun 22, 2020
Messages
1
Hello
I had a root canal done on bottom tooth, far left, about 18 months ago.
It was successful, I've had no problems with tooth, but for various reasons I left it open
(uncrowned) until 3 weeks ago.

I have some questions about the treatment I received prior to this tooth being ready to
take a fresh imprint for the new crown.

First of all, a lot of material was removed from the inside of the tooth, it was almost hollowed out.
So much so that it had to be replaced with the hardening resin. Tooth "basically rebuilt" (his words)
When I was asked about why this was done, the answer was not satisfactory (convincing) to me,
blaming the other doctor from 18 months ago who did the root canal (who has been in business
for years) - In fact, now, I'm considering calling the root canal doctor to get his thoughts on the matter.

Secondly, some kind of string was pushed down into the gum all the way around .
He sure pushed it in deep. When I asked about it, he said it had something to do with the
bleeding. This explanation, again, left me slightly uneasy. I'm not even sure if this string was removed.

Thirdly, about two weeks later, the final crown was installed everything OK.
They wanted to, and did, take one more x-ray of the tooth at this point. I asked about it,
I said "Is there something else wrong there" - the assistant just mumbled something about they wanted to make sure
the glue was cleaned up properly. I've never heard this, I've had crowns before, never an x-ray at the end.

Something about this whole thing is worrying me. Any thoughts or reassurance?
Thanks
 

Dr M

Verified Dentist
Joined
May 31, 2019
Messages
1,425
Solutions
124
Good day

1) Depending on the amount of tooth structure that was left after the root canal was completed, the dentist might have needed to build up the tooth, to create a core onto which the crown could hold on to. Sometimes after a root canal has been completed, and there isn't enough tooth structure left ( note tooth structure and not filling ) , we place a post and core in order to create better retention for the crown. This might entail a pin like structure that was placed into one or more roots and then a core of filling material( metal or resin ) around that, which would create a larger area for the crown to hold on to.

2) The string like structure the dentist placed around the tooth, is called retraction cord, and this is used commonly in cases where the gum is either to close to the margins of the crown prep, which might influence the impression detail, or to control bleeding around the margins, since fluid ( blood or saliva or water ) can influence the detail of the impression, which might lead to less accurate fit of the crown, if not controlled correctly. This is normal in certain situations.

3) It is very important to take a post op x-ray of the crown after it is placed, to ensure accurate fit and seal and to make sure there is no excess cement in between the crown tooth and adjacent teeth. Excess cement could lead to inflammation, food traps and this could lead to eventual crown or tooth loss.

Hope this helps
 

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